Marine Debris Removal Efforts in

Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

6IMDC – San Diego, CA

March 13, 2018

Rio de Janeiro: “Blessed by its nature”

2009: Rio to host the Olympics – Will

they be ready?

Let’s Clean Up the Guanabara Bay !!!

Guanabara Bay Drainage Basin

N

2

412 km2159 mi2

4,081 km21,575 mi2

Municipalities Surrounding the GB

Sanitation in the Guanabara Bay

Watershed

Sewage generation and treatment in Guanabara Bay Hydrographic Basin. Source: Coelho, 2007.

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• 8 million people

• Only 20% is served

by sewage treatment

• Raw sewage of 6

million people flows

into the Bay

• 35% expected to be

covered by 2018

Solid Waste in Guanabara Bay

• 73% of households had solid waste collection services

• ~ 3,800 tons/day were not collected

• Illegal dumping issue

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How the trash reaches the GB ?

Source: Grael, 2015

How the trash reaches the Bay?

Source: Sprehe, 2016

How Much Trash Reaches the GB?

INFORMATION QUANTITIES SOURCE

Data from Emmanuel Alencar (O Globo)

Amount of trash that reaches the GB (daily estimate)

80 t/day (2008) Elmo Amador, Environmentalist and Researcher

100 t / day (2013) Marinele Ramos, former president of INEA

Annual trash collected from 11 ecobarriers (annual)

4,714 t (2011)

INEA4,276 t (2012)

Amount of tires collected (2011 + 2012)Total: 2,878 tires

average: 4/day

Cost of repairs caused to vessels of Barcas S.A. R$ 2.3 million/year

CCR Barcas

(cleaning, divers team, replacement of filters, paitining, energy and maintenance) USD $ 700 millions

Data from Victor Coelho (2007)

Trash In the Guanabara Bay274 t/day of trash

Observations and estimates from the author

542 t/day of vegetation

Source: Grael, 2015

Floatable Trash Mobility

Source: Grael, 2015

Happy New Year ?

Copacabana Beach, 1st of January Source: UOL notícias

How to tackle this problem?

70% - PLASTICS

Clean Guanabara Program

Programa Guanabara Limpa – MARINE DEBRIS

• Zero Landfill Program

• Bay Without Trash Program

• PSAM - Guanabara Bay’s Watershed Sanitation Program

• Sewage Treatment Systems Expansion / Enhancement

Effluent Treatment Station (ETS) Alegria

ETS Pavuna

ETS Sarapuí

Paquetá Island Sewage Treatment

ETS São Gonçalo

9

Zero Landfill Program

Lixão Zero Program: Subprogram of the Pact for Sanitation designed by SEA

Improve proper SW disposal

Closing of 5 open-air landfills and illegal dumps and remediation of affected areas

Creation of Intermunicipal Consortiums

Reallocation of the Catadores (waste pickers) – important role on the recycling industry

Gramacho Landfill Source: The Business Insider

Closing of the Gramacho Landfill

• One of the world’s largest open-air landfills: 60 million

tons of trash

• Located near the ocean – debris and leachate pollution

• Closed after 34 years

• 5 k catadores

• Petrobras buys gas - 200 wells (CO2 & CH4)

• Carbon Credits and Biogas Sales

Source: O Globo

244 football fields

Closing of Garbage Dumps (Lixões)

Source: Grael, 2015

Baía Sem Lixo Program

Promoted by:

SEA –Environmental Secretary of RJ State

INEA – Environmental Institute of RJ State

Marine trash collection:

• Installation of Ecobarriers (trash booms) in strategic

rivers that flow into the GB

• Use of Ecoboats (trash skimmers) to collect floating

trash to be conveyed at Ecopoints

Ecobarriers

Ecobarrier at the Canal do Cunha. Source: Correia, 2017

17 installed in strategic locations: rivers responsible for 85% of the trash that flow into the Bay

Ecobarriers Locations

Source: PSAM - GIS

Trash collection - low or no mechanization OPEX (maintenance+ operations + disposal – USD $ 1700 / ton

Ecobarriers StatsMONTH DUMPSTER TONS

Aug-15 157.79 t

Sep-15 353.45 t

Oct-15 348.91 t

Nov-15 206.14 t

Dec-15 132.14 t

Jan-16 170.85 t

Feb-16 159.55 t

Mar-16 83.26 t

Apr-16 05 un 69.09 t

May-16 26 un 274.62 t

Jun-16 14 un 93.61 t

Jul-16 30 un 280.34 t

Aug-16 52 un 497.83 t

Sep-16 73 un 728.33 t

Oct-16 59 un 610.06 t

Nov-16 78 un 680.27 t

Dec-16 69 un 522.06 t

Jan-17 119 un 924.85 t

Feb-17 45 un 471.89 t

Mar-17 75 un 798.11 t

Apr-17 69 un 666.67 t

May-17 53 un 433.20 t

jun/17 - on going 34 un 374.44 t

TOTAL : 801.00 8,663.02

Ecobarriers Stats

ECO 1 ECO 2 ECO 3,4, 5, 6 E

7

ECO 8 ECO 9 ECO 10A

ECO 10B

ECO 11 ECO 13 ECO 14 ECO 15 ECO 16 ECO 17

BARREIRAS 180.24 t 3,014.87 95.11 t 403.20 t 2,106.21 2,813.32 1,936.83 1,412.66 167.74 t 21.52 t 39.56 t 197.37 t 37.05 t

180.24 t

3,014.87 t

95.11 t

403.20 t

2,106.21 t

2,813.32 t

1,936.83 t

1,412.66 t

167.74 t21.52 t 39.56 t197.37 t 37.05 t

MEDIÇÃO BARREIRAS

ECO 1 180.24 t

ECO 2 3,014.87 t

ECO 3, 4, 5, 6 E 7 95.11 t

ECO 8 403.20 t

ECO 9 2,106.21 t

ECO 10 A 2,813.32 t

ECO 10 B 1,936.83 t

ECO 11 1,412.66 t

ECO 13 167.74 t

ECO 14 21.52 t

ECO 15 39.56 t

ECO 16 197.37 t

ECO 17 37.05 t

TOTAL : 12,425.68

LEGENDA:

ECO 1 - CANAL DO MANGUE

ECO 2 - CANAL DO CUNHA

ECO 3 - CANAL DA VILA DOS PINHEIROS

ECO 4 - CANAL BAIXA DO SAPATEIRO

ECO 5 - NOVA HOLANDA

ECO 6 - RIO RAMOS

ECO 7 - CANAL DA RUA DARCY VARGAS

ECO 8 - RIO IRAJÁ

ECO 9 - RIO MERITI

ECO 10A - RIO IGUAÇU

ECO 10B - RIO SARAPUÍ

ECO 11 - RIO ESTRELA

ECO 13 - RIO IMBOAÇU MONTANTE

ECO 14 - RIO MARIMBONDO

ECO 15 - RIO BRANDOAS

ECO 16 - RIO BOMBA

ECO 17 - CANAL VILA DO MARUÍ

Source: INEA

Ecoboats

Source: INEA

12 Ecoboats4 tons collected/ day

Ecoboats routes

Tracking Trash – Deltares Operational

Forecasting System

Winds - Currents - Tides

http://guanabaralimpa.deltares.nl/

Ecoboats – Targeting the right location

Small ecoboat near the Museu of Tomorrow Source: Summers, 2017

Environmental Education

Projeto Grael – Rumo Náutico Institute

OndAzul Institute

Recycling Route

ReciColeta

Guanabara Bay’s Watershed Sanitation

Program (PSAM)

Goals:

• Help restore water quality in the Bay

• Increase WW collection & treatment in the watershed

• Develop institutional improvements - Governance

Funding SourcesAmount

( In US$ Millions)

Inter-American Development Bank 452.00

State Funding 188.00

Total Amount 640.00

PSAM – ETS Improvements

Pavuna ETS Improvements

Cidade Nova

Trunk Collector

Alcântara Sewage

System

Effluent Treatment Stations & Trash

Boys of the City of God walk on barrier in the Effluent Treatment Unit Pavuna at the river Arroyo: containment prevents avalanche of waste from reaching Lagoos of Barra da Tijuca.

Source: O Globo

PSAM Project - KCI’s Project Scope

Overall objectives:

• Assess the current conditions of the Bay

• Describe the main threats impacting its health

• Develop a restoration framework

Assessment based on existing data

Workshops (4): stakeholder involvement

Development of 2 main reports:

• Diagnostic of the State of the Guanabara Bay

• Environmental Restoration Plan Framework10

Why Look at Chesapeake Bay?

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Comparison to Baltimore – Washington

Metropolitan Region

Population • BWMR – 9.3 million

• RJMR – 8.6 million

Political• BWMR – 2 states, 13 counties

and 3 major municipalities

• RJMR – 1 state, 15 municipalities

Sanitation problems• BWMR - CSOs & SSOs, $4.8 B

sewage/drainage system restoration underway

• RJMR – 70-80% of sewage untreated, major infrastructure development underway

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Critical Factors for Bay Restoration

Critical Factors

Engagement of all citizens federal, state and local

government, universities businesses, NGOs

Restoration plan based on good science

Political leaders have signed a formal agreement

Dedicated funding

Fair and equitable restoration plan

Measurable commitments and deadlines with long-

term and short-term “2-year Milestones”

Transparent and regular reporting

Monitoring of restoration actions and water quality

Everyone held accountable for their actions or lack of

action

Public education at all levels

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Technical Cooperation Project

Approach

Project is a COOPERATIVE

EFFORT

PSAM

FBDS

KCI

UMCES

Masterplan

IDB

INEA

UFRJ

Other Universities

WatershedCommittees

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Technological Support

• Digital Platform

• Spatial Database – BDE

• PSAM-GIS

• Ecohealth

• Partiu Praia App

Spatial Database - BDE

PSAM MAPS - GIS

Guanabara Bay Report Card

Developed by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES)GB Report Card Interactive Version: https://ecoreportcard.org/report-cards/guanabara-bay/

GB – Water Quality Monitoring

INEA – App: Public Awareness on

Water Quality

Conclusions

• The Olympic Games brought attention to Rio de Janeiro Marine Debris issue

• A lot of effort for a huge problem• Corruption scandals delayed programs• Lost of an opportunity ?• A lot of trash collected, no issues during the Olympics

sailing events, but• There is a lot to be done !

Thank you!